My boy is beautiful... and Big?

[vickorano]

Hey all, I'm back to get some insight about Mr Bones' weight! He's growing... fast.

According to the information I've found online, kittens between 5-7 months old should be like, 4-5lbs at most. Well, I weighed him today & at 6.5 months old, he is exactly 7.6lbs. However... he doesn't appear to be overweight? He's just... big? I can easily feel his ribs under his skin, his tummy tapers in at the waist & it isn't bowing or under him.

 

[stephanietx]

At 6 months of age, my boy weighed almost 9 pounds. He was a chunky monkey. He's now 13 and weighs about 13 pounds and is not overweight. Usually, kittens weigh about 1 pound/month, so a 5-7 month old kitten should weigh 5-7 pounds. Kittens have boundless energy and crazy high metabolisms. It seems they are in constant motion unless they are sleeping, and they grow in their sleep!. As long as he is eating well, using the litter box appropriately, and there's no change in behavior, then I wouldn't worry. He looks healthy to me. Are you feeding him wet food as well as having access to dry food at all times?

 

[vickorano]

Are you feeding him wet food as well as having access to dry food at all times?

He has access to dry food at all times; fresh food & filtered water available both upstairs & down in the kitchen. He drinks plenty & pees just fine, his poops are well formed but kinda big--which is why I was wondering about his weight, cause I was worried I might be overfeeding him.

Though I think he doesn't like the current dry food (the store was out of the Blue Buffalo kitten food I was giving him before.) He kind of picks at it, rather than full on eating like he did with the other food.

The two brands of food he's currently eating are "I (and) Love (and) You" grain free with Salmon & Pure Harmony Chicken and Chickpea but as I said, he normally eats Blue Buffalo Kitten Chicken & Brown Rice.

I also give him canned tuna (in water) twice a day, morning & evening. He eats about a can a day. Wet cat food gives him A LOT of smelly gas & he doesn't seem to digest it very well; his poop was very soft, borderline diarrhea. It was Blue Buffalo brand and Pure Harmony brand wet cat food with beef & liver (for proteins.) If he didn't have the digestion issues, I'd go back to it. He gets a one-per-day probiotic (crushed) with the tuna & the dry food has pre- & probiotics as well.

He also gets a Nutrish Purrfect Broths and/or a Churu as a snack when I'm eating dinner (so he doesn't try to go for my human food, which... he always does.)

 

[vickorano]

Oh, he also gets some Fruitables treats for extra fiber.

 

[mani]

If you're giving him all that canned tuna, then I'm not surprised about the gas. Also it's not a well-rounded food, nutritionally. I'd be replacing it with a wet food for cats.
As for his size.. he's probably just going to be a big boy.. he's certainly not overweight.

 

[stephanietx]

Please don't give him tuna, except as a treat. Look for a kitten food that's basically meat, no grains. He needs the calories in a kitten food. I don't think you can overfeed a kitten.